New member of staff seems overly assertive- espesh in reply to my email

[Liz1tummypain]

So this new person should be capable of the job. Started in July. She's from a slightly different background but that shouldn't be an issue. I'm her manager. We both work 3 days/ week and on Mondays we agree what work she will do on the day she works when I'm not in.

Today is a classic example. I logged on from home early to check emails etc and emailed to ask her to prioritise something, having seen where one of our colleagues' work has got to. Nothing major. Would take approx half an hour, no more. The reply I've just seen is along the lines of my email was "too cryptic for her" . Yes, cryptic. What would you do? I'm not confident that she uses her time well when nobody is supervising her. Various clues I've picked up on. I quite like my work pattern but would certainly consider changing it so our 3 days coincide but that shouldn't be necessary. Just seeking people's reactions. Thanks in advance

Leaving them with no response is not good management.

Op did not say they were going to chill out at all.

And Op still believes she is right and that she was perfectly clear.

She says it is a task that must be prioritised but also says "No, I haven't replied. It's a very small thing. It can wait". So if I was colleague/team member I would find this confusing and cryptic as a management style of communication and would feel frustrated as I would never be sure what the expectations wer
Same here.
I'd be very confused getting emails from a manager on their non-working day telling me what to do, but then when I ask for clarity, getting no reply would frustrate me.
Hopefully the OP is going to be clearer in their communication and come up with a system that doesn't involve them micromanaging on their non working days. If they're clear in their expectations then it becomes easier to show if the colleague is slacking off Vs doesn't know what they're doing

Cryptic can seem really rude unless they have English as a second (3rd….whatever) language.

But OP you need to be clear and that means clear to the person you are communicating with. If clear means having a 1 on 1 on how shit is going to go then do that. If she needs to have extra help from others to get her up to speed then do that.

Or, take that vacation day and relax. Be confident and assertive yourself. Go enjoy a day off and understand that folks will get things done and if they don’t then they need to be cut.

It’s really not that hard. As long as you’re being clear and communicating what needs to be done then it’s on them.

Im surprised at the number of responses here saying the problem is obviously with the OP. Its not obvious at all. Employees response sounds like a passive aggressive statement to me and someine who's happy to be disrespectful to manager, I've been there before, it can be the start of a rocky road/red flag imo
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I agree unless it’s the language barrier type of deal

thats why I’m saying OP needs to handle her shit. Explain the expectations she has, then cut this worker if that doesn’t get done

She also needs to not micromanage and let some sink or swim happen. People don’t do well with micro management. It’s toxic as all get out.

if you can’t take a few days off from email then you’re a shitty manager. Yes I said it. Mangers aren’t THAT important where they can’t trust workers to get their deliverables in without constant overview

If a worker isn’t able to keep up, then they need the boot.

good managers understand the big picture

Overly assertive
Has she arrived with pre-set ideas, and is reluctant to change?

No, do it by email so you've got a paper trail. You might need it bu the looks of it.

I had a boss who would ask for work to be done without any explanation of what she actually required. Think 'I want a report on how X affects Y'. She would give no timescale, I would have no idea how in depth she wanted it i.e. 1 page or 16 pages with graphs etc., and in one conversation should probably contradict herself three times. I get extremely anxious when I don't know exactly what is expected of me and it effectively paralysed my ability to get things done. Eventually I just ensured that I paraphrased what she had said and asked if that was what she wanted, or just asked for clarification. I would prefer, and suggest that you do this, a numbered list of tasks that sets out exactly what you want and when.

1. Spend a couple of days reading journal articles/speaking to the Q department to find out as much as you can about how X affects Y.
2. Put your findings into a brief 2 page report, to include a bar chart, to get to me by Tuesday so that I can present it to the Operations Manager.

and then because it's me and I lack confidence and I like to give others confidence...

1. It's fine if you can only find 2 or 3 examples, if you find a lot more then up to 15 would be excellent, I have every confidence that you will pick the most relevant examples.

AND CRUCIALLY - If you need any clarification on this I will be available tomorrow afternoon. This approach tells me what is required, how to approach it, the timescale, the boundaries within which I can work (how much I can think for myself) and the intended audience for the report so that I have an idea of how to present it. Plus letting me know that clarification is available if required but only within a set time. Obviously amend according to the kind of work and level of skill/expertise/responsibility.

Just reply and be more specific and ask her when it will be completed today. Give her the benefit of the doubt that she doesn't understand. Maybe you just have different work styles. There's always an adjustment period.

Just reply and be more specific and tell her it's not optional.